Responsible Manager: Chief Finance and Operations Officer
Date: March 2026
Approved by: Information Governance Group
Approval Date: April 2026
GDPR Lead: Data Protection Officer
Review Date: March 2028
Accessible to Clients/ Students: Yes
Trafford College Group is the data controller of personal information about you. We are responsible for the personal data that you provide to us. We have strict policies and processes in place to ensure that it remains safe whilst in our possession.
If you have any questions about this privacy notice or the ways in which we use your personal information, please contact our Data Protection Officer dpo@tscg.ac.uk.
This privacy notice has been prepared in accordance with the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018.
Your rights under the UK GDPR
To be informed | This Privacy Notice provides the information you are entitled to receive |
Access to your personal data | Please contact us if you would like confirmation that your data is being processed and access to your personal data via a Subject Access Request (SAR). All SARs are free of charge, however, The Group will charge a ‘reasonable fee’ if a request is manifestly unfounded or excessive, particularly if it’s repetitive. The fee will be based on the administrative cost of providing the information. |
Rectification | Please inform us of any data which you would like rectified and we will usually respond within a month of the request. We will pass on the changes to any third parties who need to change their records and let you know this has been done. |
Erasure | You may exercise your right to have your personal data erased in a number of circumstances (e.g. if the data is no longer necessary in relation to the purpose for which it was created or you withdraw your consent). |
Restrict Processing | You can tell us that we can keep your data but must stop processing it, including preventing future mailings and communications. If possible we will inform any third parties to whom your data has been disclosed of your requirement. |
Data Portability | You can request to have the personal data transmitted directly from one controller to another, where technically feasible. |
Object to Processing | We may stop processing your data if you object to processing based on legitimate interests or the performance of a task in the public interest / exercise of official authority (including profiling). We will stop processing your data for direct marketing if you tell us to. We will stop processing your data for purposes of research and statistics, if you object. |
Not to be subject to automated decision-making including profiling | We do not use any automated decision-making. |
To exercise these rights please contact the Data Protection Officer at dpo@tscg.ac.uk. Where processing is based on consent, individuals have the right to withdraw their consent at any time.
The Group collects and processes personal data relating to individuals in order to deliver Programmes of Study, Apprenticeships, workforce development programmes and other services which meet specific needs for learners and employers.
The Group will only ask for as much information as needed to fulfil your enquiry, application, enrolment or financial support application and meet our legal obligations.
The following are examples of the types of information collected, held and shared. This is not an exhaustive list but provides examples of information collected, held and shared to enable The Trafford College Group to provide its products and services to its customers and users.
Type of personal data | Purpose and lawful basis |
Name, address, date of birth, national insurance number, residency, details of previous educational history, qualifications, pastimes and interests and employment. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion information for example gender, ethnicity, nationality. Characteristics (such as gender, age, ethnicity, first language, nationality, country of birth and free school meal eligibility) Details of learning difficulties or disabilities, or medical conditions, which could impact on learning or on the quality of service we provide. References from previous educational institutions or employers. | We need this data to fulfil our legal obligations to share with the DfE and other agencies, and to fulfil our public task of providing students and employers with the most appropriate learning opportunities and the best possible education, training and pastoral support to meet their goals. We also use this data to carry out our obligations to monitor and improve the way we carry out public tasks as an FE College. In limited circumstances, such as medical emergencies, we may process personal data to protect the vital interests of yourself or other learners. If you consent, we will use your name, home address and student number to register you to vote in elections based on where you live. The equality, diversity, and inclusion information constitutes special category personal data under Article 9 of the UK GDPR, and this is processed for equality monitoring and to ensure appropriate support is provided. |
Contact details – address, phone numbers, emails | We need this data to fulfil our legal obligations to share with the DfE and other agencies. We also need it to communicate with our students and employers in order to carry out our public task to provide education We will seek consent where we wish to use this information for other purposes, such as marketing courses or surveys. These details are needed in order to administer the enquiry/application process, part of our public task as an FE College. We will also contact you with information about open days and other information which will be directly related to your enquiry or application. We will not send you any unrelated marketing information. |
Attendance information, including sessions attended, absences, reasons for absence. Progress information including assessment details and marks. Details of tutor meetings, learning and behavioural targets and summaries. References, details of applications for jobs, courses at other educational institutions. | We need this data to fulfil our public task of providing students and employers with the most appropriate learning opportunities and the best possible education, training and pastoral support to meet their goals. We also use this data to carry out our obligations to monitor and improve the way we carry out public tasks as an FE College. |
Record notes of interviews, any advice and guidance given and offers made, and your responses to offers. | These details are needed in order to administer the enquiry/application process to enable us to provide the best possible advice and guidance in order to carry out our public task as an FE College. |
Criminal convictions which are relevant to safeguarding or the safety of others. All criminal convictions, and DBS checks for all students on courses such as Early Years or Social Work, where required by law in order to meet course requirements. | We will require criminal convictions to be disclosed where we deem this to be necessary in connection with the public task of ensuring the safety of our students. For certain courses with safeguarding implications, convictions must be disclosed and DBS checks will be carried out. Certain convictions may lead to debarring an individual from a study programme and/or specific jobs roles within certain sectors for example Early Years and Social Work. |
Contact details and names of parents/carers | For students aged under 18 on 1st September at the start of the academic year, and for those aged 18-25 with an Educational Health Care Plan, we will require contact details of a parent or carer to be used in emergencies. We strongly encourage students/applicants to provide details of parents/carers and to give us consent to share data with parents, including details of interviews and open days, and offers made, so we can support students/applicants. |
Household details – including number in household, income and benefits claimed, and bank account details. | This will be required when the college is under a legal obligation to collect and share this information with the government or its agencies, or when it is required to assess eligibility for fee remission or bursaries in order for the college to fulfil its public task of providing education. Students who apply for financial support such as bursaries will be required to provide further details and evidence. This is required to meet our legal requirements to administer financial support fairly and to collect and retain evidence to support our decisions, and to enable us to administer payments. |
Photos and images | The Group will take photos of students, employers and any visitors which will be used to maintain security and to assist staff in carrying out their tasks. Photos or videos taken for marketing or education purposes will not be published without consent. |
Employer data – The college will collect and store information relating to commercial business for example as part of Organisational Needs Analysis (ONA) to enable Trafford College Group to support the employer (employees) and the development of their workforce. | This information will be stored on Trafford College Groups Customer Relationship Management System (CRM) in order to carry out and performance manage the contract and for the purpose of our public task of providing education |
Employer and employee names, roles and contact details | Employer and subcontract organisations bank details may be collected in order to make payments for the performance of and contract or legitimate interest. |
Name, date of birth, address, National Insurance number | We collect this information to include eligible students, with their consent, to register to vote and be included on the electoral register. 16–17-year-olds as “attainers” with registration completed at 18. 18+ registered to vote with immediate effect. It is shared with Electoral Registration Office, held by them for no longer than one month following the monthly update of the Electoral Register. |
In summary:
The Group typically collect personal and employer information about individuals through the information provided to us during the application, enrolment, enquiry and employer engagement process.
The Group may collect your personal/employer data in a number of ways, for example:
Your personal/employer information will be used for purposes relating to education, training, employment, general advice services, well-being and research.
The Group does not sell or rent personal information. Where there is a legitimate or lawful (including statutory) reason to do so, personal data may be disclosed to third parties.
Organisations that the Group may share information with include:
* Please note that in emergency situations where the College deems it to be in your (or potentially a third party’s) ‘vital interests’ the College may share your personal data, including sensitive personal data with relevant individuals/agencies, e.g. the Police.
Where third-party organisations process personal data on behalf of the College (for example IT system providers or cloud services), they act as data processors and are required to process personal data only in accordance with our instructions and appropriate contractual safeguards.
Further information about use of and access to personal data, and details of organisations with whom the data is regularly shared are available at:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/learning-records-service-the-plr-for-learners-and-parents
https://www.hesa.ac.uk/about/regulation/data-protection/notices
The Group will ask you to provide information relating to ethnicity and any health or additional learning needs. This information is used to ensure that we meet our obligations under the Equality Act 2010. The Group also use any information provided to us about health or additional learning needs to ensure that we provide support to our learners as required during the application and enrolment processes and throughout their time with us at the college.
If you register an interest with the Group or through one of our service providers, you may be asked to opt-in to receive marketing communications. This is done at the point where your personal/employer information is first collected. Within any marketing communications, you will be provided with a simple and transparent way to unsubscribe. Any changes you request to how your personal information is processed for the purposes of marketing and/or the provision of service updates will be acted on promptly. You can make this request by emailing dpo@tccg.ac.uk
We will only retain your personal/employer information for as long as necessary to fulfil the purposes we collected it for, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting requirements.
Personal data is retained in accordance with the Trafford and Stockport College Group Records Retention Schedule
The College does not routinely transfer personal data outside the UK. Where international transfers are necessary, appropriate safeguards will be implemented in accordance with the UK GDPR.
The Campuses and buildings contain Closed Circuit Television systems. These are in place for the safety and security of our staff, students, visitors and property. We store images on our CCTV systems for 11 days. We may be required to securely store captured images for longer to support investigations.
The Group will hold personal information securely. To prevent unauthorised disclosure or access to personal information, it has strong organisational and technical security safeguards.
The Group follows stringent procedures to ensure it processes all personal information in line with the Data Protection Act 2018.
When someone visits www.tscg.ac.uk the College collect standard internet log information and visitor details of behaviour patterns. It does this to find out things such as the number of visitors to the different parts of the site. It collects the information in a way which does not identify anyone. Website analytics tools may also be used to collect anonymised information and how visitors use the website in order to improve functionality and user experience.
A cookie is a small file placed on a computer’s hard drive. It enables the Group’s website to identify a computer as individual’s views different pages on its website. Cookies allow websites and applications to store preferences in order to present content, options or functions that are specific to individuals. They also enable the College to see information like how many people use the website and what pages they tend to visit. Visitors are provided with a cookie banner when accessing the website which allows them to manage their cookie preferences.
Please see our Cookie Policy for more details.
Student and visitor usage of the Group’s equipment and computers and what websites you go on when you are browsing the internet at College are monitored. This is because we have legal obligations to protect you, and we also have a legitimate interest in making sure you are using our computer equipment correctly and that you are not looking at any inappropriate content.
Monitoring is carried out in accordance with the College’s IT Acceptable Use Policy and is necessary to protect network security, prevent misuse of systems and comply with safeguarding obligations.
If you want to browse the internet privately, you will need to use your own devices which are not linked to the Group’s network or internet connection.
If you are dissatisfied with the way that the Trafford College and Stockport Group has processed your data or if you feel that we have not complied with your data protection rights, you can complain to the Data Protection Officer in the first instance dpo@tscg.ac.uk so that the Group is provided with the opportunity to review the matter and respond to your concerns.
You can also ask the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to carry out an assessment to see whether it is likely or unlikely that the Group has responded properly.
The ICO can be contacted via the following methods:
The Group will keep this Privacy Notice under regular review and reserve the right to change it as necessary from time-to-time. Any changes will be immediately posted on the website.
